An Actor

A small actor presents himself to the audience and shows the roles he plays on stage.

Grade 1 Up As in An Artist (1980) and A Writer (1984, both Harper), Goffstein examines artistry through a mature practitionerhere, a gray-haired hand puppet. It is the trickiest performance of the three, with the elderly lady addressing the reader/audience from her small, double-page spreads of a rust-colored curtained stage throughout. She recalls various rolesmale, female, young, oldin which the audience has supported her. Then in her guise as a ``real'' actress, the puppet draws the curtains to ``empty her mind'' and assume the persona of her playlet, reappearing as a young child, playing tea party with her doll. The message is layered, its impact less direct than in the two earlier books. A small, evocative child-puzzle that is most likely to speak to the hearts of adults over the heads of children. Ruth M. McConnell, San Antonio Public Library
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

A companion to Goffstein's portraits of A Writer and An Artist, this elegant prose poem explores the relationship between actor and audience. The curtains open to reveal a chalk-drawnhand puppet who announces, "Welcome to my theater, and to tonight's entertainment." But before the play begins, the puppet actor reminds the audience of previous roles: "From those same seats you have wept for me as a young prince gravely wounded in battle, anguished for me as a senile king who has been betrayed." Explaining the transformation from actor to character, the puppet says "I must go backstage . . . emptying my mind of everyday thoughts . . . for when I returnbut I will not returnit will not be me!" Adults will enjoy Goffstein's allusions to Shakespearean characters, and children will applaud the finalea play with themes closer to their experienceabout a doll named Miss Porcelain Tea. A Charlotte Zolotow Book. All ages.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.